Scholarships for Tenth Graders: A Comprehensive Guide

It's no secret that many scholarships for high school students are geared toward high school juniors and seniors, who are rapidly approaching the start of college. But high school sophomores are also thinking about college and how to pay for it. This article provides a comprehensive guide to scholarships for tenth graders, covering eligibility, application tips, and valuable resources.

Why Scholarships Matter for Sophomores

Higher education is increasingly necessary for many careers, but the high costs of tuition and living expenses have left millions of college students in debt. College may still seem far away, but it's approaching faster than you think, and so are the incoming expenses. By getting an early start to funding their education, students can increase their projected award amount by accumulating funds over a longer period of time. Starting your scholarship hunt now will give you as much time as possible to reduce your college costs, so don’t wait!

Scholarship Opportunities for High School Sophomores

Here are some specific scholarship opportunities open to high school sophomores:

Amount: $1,000
- Deadline: Last day of the month
- Eligibility: Open to high school students of all years who are US residents.
Amount: $1,000 (4 awards each)
- Deadline: Last day of each month
- Eligibility: Open to high school students of all years who are US residents.
Amount: $1,000
- Deadline: June 30, December 31
- Eligibility: Open to high school students of all years!
Amount: Varies
- Deadline: January 14
- Eligibility: Open to high school students who are members of DECA.
Amount: $16,000
- Deadline: February 6
- Eligibility: Open to high achieving, first-generation, low-income high school sophomores aspiring to attend a four-year college or university. Must be attending one of the program’s partner high schools in San Diego or Orange County, Florida (see scholarship page for the full list).
Amount: $3,000
- Deadline: April 28
- Eligibility: Open to students ages 14-22.
Amount: $500
- Deadline: July 1
- Eligibility: Open to high school sophomores, juniors and seniors. Must have at least a 3.0 GPA to apply.
Amount: $1,000 each (3 awards)
- Deadline: July 31
- Eligibility: Open to high school students of all years.

Additional Scholarship Programs and Contests

Breakthrough Junior Challenge: Open to students between 13 and 18 years of age. Closing Date: September 15, 2025. Amount: Up to $250,000.
Innovation in Education Scholarship: Open to students currently enrolled in high school or college within the United States with at least 3.0 GPA. Closing Date: September 20, 2025. Amount: $500.00.
Ethical Torch Essay Scholarship: Open to students in grade 9-12 (graduating classes of 2026-2029) residing and enrolled in school in Orange County (California). Closing Date: September 22, 2025. Amount: Up to $1,500.
$2,000 “No Essay” College Scholarship: Open to high school, college, and graduate students and those planning to enroll within 12 months. Closing Date: September 30, 2025. Amount: $2,000.00.
Appily Easy College Money Scholarship: Open to students 13 years of age or older who will be attending college in the future. Closing Date: September 30, 2025. Amount: $1,000.00.
Autumn Apple Choice Award: Open to legal residents of the United States who ate at least 13 years of age at the time of entry. Closing Date: September 30, 2025. Amount: $2,000.00.
College JumpStart Scholarship: Open to students in 10th through 12th grades, college students, and non-traditional students. Closing Date: September 30, 2025. Amount: $1,000.00.
Don’t Text and Drive Scholarship: Open to high school students in grades 9-12 and current college or graduate school students. Closing Date: September 30, 2025. Amount: $1,000.00.
Educational Empowerment Scholarship: Open to legal residents of the United States who ate at least 13 years of age at the time of entry. Closing Date: September 30, 2025. Amount: $1,500.00.
No Sweat Scholarship: Open to students 13 years of age or older who are legal residents of the United States or the District of Columbia. Closing Date: September 30, 2025. Amount: $2,500.00.
School Survey Sweepstakes: Sweepstakes is open to current high school students, high school alumni who graduated within the last four years, and the parents of those students or alumni. Closing Date: September 30, 2025. Amount: $1,000.00.
Shout It Out Scholarship: Open to students 14 years of age or older who are legal residents of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia and are currently enrolled (or will enroll in the future) in an accredited post-secondary institution of higher education. Closing Date: September 30, 2025. Amount: $1,500.00.
#100for100 Scholarship: Closing Date: October 1, 2025. Amount: $1,000.00.
ConnectHer Film Festival Scholarship: Open to middle school and high school students, as well as college undergraduates who are under the age of 25. Closing Date: October 1, 2025. Amount: $2,500.00.
George Montgomery/NRA Youth Wildlife Art Contest: Contest is open to students in grades 1-12, including home-schooled students. Closing Date: October 1, 2025. Amount: Up to $1,000.
What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up Annual Art Contest: Contest is open to students attending a public, private, religious, charter or home school located within the State of Nevada and who are enrolled in Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, or 1st through 12th grades. Closing Date: October 3, 2025. Amount: Up to $1,000.
YoungArts Competition: Competition is open to students between the ages of 15 and 18 who have talent in visual, literary, design or performing arts. Closing Date: October 8, 2025. Amount: Up to $10,000.
The Music Center Spotlight Program: Program is open to Southern California high school students who have talent in Acting, Non-Classical Voice, Classical Voice, Non-Classical Dance, Ballet, Jazz Instrumental and Classical Instrumental. Closing Date: October 13, 2025. Amount: Varies.
International Public Policy Forum Contest: Contest is open to high school students in grades nine through twelve attending public, private, parochial, or home schools with an interest in debate and forensics. Closing Date: October 15, 2025. Amount: Varies.
Ethical Torch Essay Scholarship: Scholarship is open to students in grade 9-12 (graduating classes of 2026-2029) residing and enrolled in school in Greater Arizona. Closing Date: October 20, 2025. Amount: Up to $1,500.
Video Contest Scholarship for Creative Students: Scholarship is open to current high school, college, and university students worldwide. Closing Date: October 31, 2025. Amount: Up to $1,000.
Voice of Democracy Scholarship Competition: Program is open to students in grades 9-12 who are enrolled in a public, private or parochial high school or home study program in the United States, its territories and possessions. Closing Date: October 31, 2025. Amount: Up to $35,000.
Zombie Apocalypse Scholarship: Scholarship is open to students 14 years of age or older who are legal residents of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia who are currently enrolled (or plan to enroll in the future) in an accredited post-secondary institution of higher education. Closing Date: October 31, 2025. Amount: $2,000.00.
10 Words or Less Scholarship: Scholarship is open to students between the ages of 14-25 who will be attending school in the Fall of 2026. Closing Date: November 15, 2025. Amount: $1,000.00.
$500 Easy Scholarship: Street Sweep: Closing Date: November 30, 2025. Amount: $500.00.
Driver Education Initiative Award: Scholarship is open to high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors, and college freshmen. Closing Date: November 30, 2025. Amount: Varies.
Visionary Scholarship Program: Scholarship is open to high school freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors who are United States citizens or eligible non-citizens. Closing Date: December 1, 2025. Amount: Up to $5,000.
All Star Verified Scholarship: Scholarship is open to high school, college, graduate, adult students, and parents of high school and college students. Closing Date: December 31, 2025. Amount: $1,000.00.
Scholarships360 $10,000 “No Essay” Scholarship: This scholarship will be awarded to students who get the most out of Scholarships360 scholarships and content.
Niche $40,000 Scholarship: Niche is giving one student $40,000 to help pay for tuition, housing, books and other college expenses - no essay required! The winner will be selected by random drawing by November 15th.
Scholarships360 "Jump for Joy" Scholarship: Scholarships360 is offering a $500 scholarship to one student who tells us what makes them jump for joy!
Scholarships360 "Inspiration" Scholarship: Drop a thoughtful comment on the post about what inspires you.
Scholarships360 "Dream School" Scholarship: Win a $500 scholarship just by answering the question: What's your dream school?
Scholarships360 “Scholar Dollars” Essay Scholarship for Black Students: This scholarship aims to help out a Black student who is passionate about their higher education journey and actively looking for ways to fund it.
Scholarships360 “Making Waves” Scholarship for Women: Our $1,000 “Making Waves” Scholarship for Women aims to help women cover the costs of pursuing their dreams.
Scholarships360 STEM Scholarship: In order to apply, you must write an essay about which area of science, technology, engineering, or math most excites you, and what have you done to explore or pursue that interest.
Scholarships360 "Follow Your Own Path" Scholarship: The "Follow Your Own Path" Scholarship aims to support all current students planning to pursue higher education.
Scholarships360 "Moving Mountains" Scholarship: The "Moving Mountains" Scholarship is open to currently enrolled Hispanic/Latino high school, college, and graduate students who have moved mountains in their life.
Scholarships360 "Creativity Takes Courage" scholarship: The "Creativity Takes Courage" scholarship is open to students studying any form of visual and/or performing arts who write an essay on an important piece of art in their lives.
Scholarships360 Pen to Paper Scholarship for Storytellers: This scholarship is open to high school, undergraduate, and graduate students who enjoy crafting stories and expressing ideas through the arrangement of words on paper.
Scholarships360 Sharing is Caring Scholarship: Did you know you can win a $1,000 scholarship just by sharing Scholarships360 with your friends?

Other Scholarship and Contest Opportunities

Paradigm Challenge: The competition is open to students aged 4 to 18 from all over the world who create a project that helps solve a real-world issue.
Young American Creative Patriotic Art Contest: The contest is open to students grades 9-12 who submit a two-dimensional art piece depicting patriotism.
Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship Contest: Each year, the contest awards $10,000 to the applicant who submits the best holiday, greeting, or all-around holiday card.
JFK Profile in Courage Essay Contest: Each year, the contest awards up to $10,000 to winning applicants who submit a 700 - 1,000-word essay following the year’s prompt.
Triple V: This program allows students to discuss how their experiences have shaped them via a video interview, conducted in-person or virtually.
Ayn Rand Institute Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest: Nine prizes worth $3,000 each are awarded each cycle with an annual grand prize of $22,000!
Visionary Scholarship: Each application cycle, the scholarship awards between $1,000 and $2,500 to five applicants who submit an essay (~500 words) on why college is important to them.
RaiseMe: RaiseMe is a free platform that can help you discover colleges and earn what are called “micro-scholarships” for your academic and extracurricular achievements throughout high school.

How to Qualify for High School Sophomore Scholarships

Apply to scholarships for your specific location: Many scholarships have an applicant base specifically for high school students in the United States.
Apply to scholarships at your level: A lot of sophomores who are looking to attend college are unaware that the genre of 'high school students' also applies to them, not just their peers who are high school seniors.
Apply to scholarships that fulfill your niche: Meeting the eligibility requirements of a scholarship is the very first thing you should be looking for, but after that, see if you can find scholarships that fulfill aspects of your own identity.

Types of Scholarships Available

There is a wide variety of scholarships available for high school sophomores. Since sophomores aren't very far into the college application process, the scholarship types tend to be more broad than your typical scholarship application for university students, high school seniors, and graduate students.

Finding Scholarships: Where to Look

The easiest way to find scholarships as a high school sophomore is to utilize a database that connects scholarship donors with students who have a financial need for higher education support.

Read also: Camp Scholarships Guide

At Bold.org, we compile lists of scholarships and let you know what scholarships are best tailored to your eligibility requirements and scholarship niches. Making a profile on Bold.org allows high school sophomores to apply to as many scholarships as they want while allowing a clear-cut view of what scholarships are a perfect fit for you.

When to Start Applying

High school sophomores should start applying as soon as possible, preferably during their sophomore summer. Applying early will allow students to gather more funding by having more time to apply to a multitude of scholarships. This will give high school sophomores more time to craft meaningful essays for short response questions, and continue to apply for scholarships into their junior year, senior year, and into college.

What to Consider When Applying

When applying to scholarships, make sure to consider your location, niches, and your scholarship level, but also remember that scholarships are competitions. Don't expect to win every scholarship you apply to, but also remember to not take scholarship losses as a sign of personal failure. If you don't win a particular scholarship, move on to the next application instead of getting discouraged.

How to Apply for High School Sophomore Scholarships

To apply for sophomore scholarships specifically, start by creating a free account and personal profile on Bold.org. Then, search for scholarships that are either open to a broad applicant base (no-essay scholarships) or search for scholarships based on your own identity. By applying on Bold.org, you can submit applications to numerous scholarships in a fast and easy way; simply fill in the essay section if the scholarship calls for one, submit a video file if the scholarship asks for one, then hit submit!

High School Sophomore Academic Success Guide

To help you avoid the sophomore slump and stay on track with the college admissions process, we’ve created this comprehensive list of everything you should do to make your sophomore year as productive as possible!

Read also: Benefits of NSHSS Scholarships

Summer before sophomore year:
- Use your time wisely by getting involved in sports, music, or other extracurricular activities
- Engage in volunteer work to give back to your community and to make your applications stand out
- Make the most out of your free time and begin applying for scholarships. You can start with the list above!
Sophomore fall:
- Continue to be involved in extracurricular activities, including finding new activities to try or working towards leadership positions in activities you already participate in
- Plan out your schedule for the year as you may be able to start taking AP classes in order to raise your GPA and earn college credit
- You have the option to take the PSAT during your sophomore year, which will better prepare you for the junior year PSAT and the SATs
Sophomore winter:
- Continue applying to high school scholarships
- If you took AP classes during the year, begin preparing for any AP tests that you’ll have in the Spring
Sophomore spring:
- Plan out your summer activities, including finding volunteer work or getting a job or internship
- Your upcoming junior year will likely be a busy time, so start planning out your test prep schedule and your course schedule
- This is also a good time to start thinking about colleges you’re interested in so you can begin planning your college visits
- Reach out to current college students at your schools of interest to understand more about what you need to do in the coming years to set yourself up for success!

Tips for Winning Scholarships

Find scholarships that apply to your identity: You're more likely to win scholarships that you have a personal connection with. Make sure the scholarship’s purpose and interest align with you and your identity. Apply to scholarships that are best suited to you and your interests.
Apply to local and broad scholarships: Since local scholarships are less competitive, be sure to apply to as many community scholarships as you can. However, this often isn't enough. Make sure you search broadly when looking for online scholarships. This means that you’re applying to a mix of no-essay and essay scholarships with various prize amounts. Only applying to scholarships with a high award amount will make you less likely to win, since the competition is more fierce.
Answer the prompt: The scholarship question is the most important part of your application; not just because you get to show off your personality, but also because it gives you the chance to explain why you’re deserving of the scholarship award. Make sure your response matches what the application is looking for.
Tell your story: Scholarships are funded by donors who want to support students, just like you. These donors want to know about your life and passions in order to see if you're a good fit for their award. Show them who you are. Let your personality shine through in your Bold.org profile and essays.
Reuse essays: The most efficient way to apply to multiple scholarships at once is to devise an essay concept that can be used for multiple different essay questions. Reuse the same general ideas, plot points, and life lessons from essay to essay. This will save you time and make sure you’re not trapped in the planning stage for every scholarship you apply to. You’ll already have a great plan for what you want to say.
Continue applying: Don't stop once you've applied to your first scholarship…keep going! In order to save up the most amount of financial support possible, you should keep on applying to any and all scholarships that come your way. The more you apply to, the greater the chance you have of winning.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is eligible for high school sophomore scholarships? Any and all high school sophomores are eligible for the vast majority of the scholarships meant for sophomore students.
Are scholarships taxable income? It depends.

Read also: Scholarship Guide

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